PENNSYLVANIA.- Richard Strohmenger of the Pennsylvanian.com has reported  “Sock monkeys, anime pop art, SmartWrap construction material and Andy Warhol’s works have all graced the walls of the Institute of Contemporary Art, located in the heart of the University at 36th and Sansom streets. The nonprofit institute -- which was formed in 1963 and is now celebrating its 40th anniversary -- does not house any permanent collections, but rather a rotating series of exhibitions. Over the course of its tenure at Penn, the ICA has been home to the exhibitions of Warhol and other famous artists, as well as emerging creative minds from the local Philadelphia area.”

We are not your typical museum, all of our exhibitions are of living artists and new work," said ICA Manager of Marketing and Communications John McInerney. "We have no collection, so it’s easy for us to focus on what is going on now in the art world. It’s really very special,”

Before being in its present location, the ICA was formally at the Fisher Fine Arts Library and then afterwards at the Mayerson Hall.

"The ICA has an excellent reputation for bringing important and innovative artists for exhibitions," professor of History of Art Christine Poggi says, "and its location provides a very valuable resource to students. Since it is a non-collecting museum, it is very alert to what they think is important in contemporary art." Poggi is one of the many professors who takes advantage of the ICA’s proximity by organizing field trips for her classes.

"One of our biggest challenges is increasing awareness about the ICA," McInerney says. "We are always trying to get people informed as to what we do here."

“In honor of its anniversary, the ICA is hosting a lecture series that features some of the institute’s most prominent artists and directors from the past four decades. The culmination of this series was a discussion featuring former ICA Director Janet Kardon and artist Laurie Anderson in Meyerson Hall on Wednesday, followed by a dinner and dance party at the institute. Attendees had a chance to view the ICA’s newest exhibitions -- the pop art of Yoshimoto Nara and the work of local Philadelphia artist Sarah McEneaney,” also reported the Pennsylvanian.